
Very few people know that Hannah carries a vile part of herself which is locked away behind the basement of her apartment. It has a shape of a gooey jelly bean and is oozing with skin. It’s like “E.T” but all of the joy has been tranquilized out of him. You can even label it as a mental health breakdown right before take off. That monster speaks in a terrifying mix of high and low voice while claiming to be E.T. saying things to Hannah like, “I’ll guard you. you are a self absorbed, pathetic freak who cannot form bonds with others.”
Among a number of thoughtful choices made by Zlokovic, one that stands out is using puppet work to create somewhat visceral and childish vibes to portray Hannah’s appendage. She makes the doll speak and believes it knows her better than she does herself, which is just tragic. This idea underlies all the silliness of this Hulu horror comedy feature. And, women are made to grapple with how the inner voices we have must be dealt with because it’s all comical.
Hannah (Hadley Robinson), alongside being a talented fashion designer, is already on the life bullet train to burnout. This is amplified by none other than her elegant and toxic working environment filled with her never satisfied boss Cristean (Desmin Borges).
Hannah shares an office with her friend Esther (Kausar Mohammed), who has a tattoo of a pulse on her wrist, claiming that it symbolizes their bond towards one another. Each dedicates herself to the other’s well being. Yet that bond is shredded by the thoughts that plague her mind. Not only is Hannah trying to appease a tyrannical supervisor, she also entertains thoughts that Esther might be bonking her six-month boyfriend, Kaelan (Brandon Mychal Smith). And her mother’s (Deborah Rennard) tensions add on to the cry for her mental attention, with whom she shares her mental health problems. The out burst of Hannah’s appendage tries to steer Hannah both mentally, and then later physically.
In one of the story’s many giggle inducing events, it turns out that Hannah is in no way singular. She encounters more people with appendages who can block them every day with the use of a special serum. She then discovers the thin Claudia (Emily Hampshire), who wears all black and disassociates from the pack of normies. To Hannah, Claudia appears to be the overconfident friend, but to her horror and other appendages’ when Hannah’s appendage starts gaining control and joins the appendage conspiracy.
Zlokovic with amazing ease interweaves her story’s sequences, and as for the tone for the above, it has confidence and humor which seamlessly balances the horror of it all. Similarly to John Carpenter and Larry Cohen, Zlokovic manages to expand the scopes of the story with the help of the 80s.
Just like with their distinctly taste difficult classics, the odd genre pieces here are meant to showcase the psyche of the narrative and then probe deeper than a more savory project would dare. Through thick and thin, Zlokovic makes sure the story is slim and active by always presenting us with strangeness, such as how Hannah’s appendage is one of many in existence, and how its purpose is better suited for the story to reveal, rather than being told upfront. But just as one of the scenes that depicts Hannah picking at her nails, using close ups and continuous edits, is as visceral as it gets, “Appendage” knows how to enhance everything revolting without ever becoming stale.
The twists in Zlokovic’s script are at times sneakier than the follow up sequence, but “Appendage” is so good that it never loses focus of the relationships on the line. It is helpful that the rest of the performances are so strong, Robinson especially, whose growing strength complements the script’s departure from normality, and that Zlokovic’s dialogues tend to be sharp around the edges. One scene with a mother and her daughter Hannah is acutely fashioned, where the mother precisely seems more angry than anything else. Ordinal regression. The question posed seeks to reveal the pain that led to her attempting suicide: “Did you overthink what it feels like to want to do that to yourself?”
Turning her head away from her daughter’ s naked body, the mother states she is not a “f-cked up” person which describes the tears in her eye.
Even acclaimed since presentation is done in an engaging style by first time feature director Zlokovic, these moments are not solely the mark of a developing dramatic flair, these are the glue of the mid range coaster that this movie is. Unlike Hannah, this film maintains a healthy relationship with its appendage; it is accomplished at not only a bit of drama that one deeply resonates with but is also aware of the moments when it is time for some gross out body horror comedy. Zlokovic has made a great beast of her own, which is a bit different from other monsters she casts in remembrance of the promising talent. This is good news as Hulu prepares for their next release of movie “Leprechaun” which includes the Zlokovic version of “Leprechaun 4:
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